


The Hero of the Southern Thedas Seekers

by lizzledpink



Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Alcohol, Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Baseball, F/F, F/M, Multi, School Reunion
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-09
Updated: 2015-02-09
Packaged: 2018-03-11 09:15:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,630
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3322007
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lizzledpink/pseuds/lizzledpink
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Cassandra plays baseball, Varric works for the school paper, Cassandra can't stand him, Varric is screwed.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> All mentioned baseball teams except the Tevinter Dragons were inspired by [Liz](http://alderaantimesalderaanplaces.tumblr.com). Prompt: high school popular kid/nerd au [[original post](http://lizzledpink.tumblr.com/post/105901392611)]

"So get this. Bottom of the ninth. Tie game. Two strikes, three balls. And Pentaghast steps up to the plate looking like she’s going to kill a man. The pitcher sees her and he’s going to shit a brick," Varric says conspiratorially. "He’s the Dragons’ relief pitcher, not their main guy. Some tiny little sophomore who made the varsity team by the skin of his teeth. And she -"

”It was three balls, one strike, Varric,” Cassandra interrupts, approaching from behind him. Varric’s little captive freshmen audience gapes when they see her. ”His version gets wilder every time,” she grumbles. “He was a relief pitcher, yes, but he was a senior, and he was not about to shit any bricks. He threw a ball. I hit it well. The end.”

"The end!" Varric exclaims. Couldn’t Cassandra have let him tell the story for just a minute longer? "You beat the Dragons - the _previously undefeated_ Tevinter Dragons - with a home run on a ball they couldn’t even find afterwards! You’re the hero of the whole team! The whole school!” 

"It’s impressive enough on its own, Varric, you don’t need to embellish further! You’re behind that horrible article in the paper, aren’t you? The one that got stuck to every tenth locker in the school?"

Ah, shit. “Well -“

"Oh, no. You are  _not_ talking your way out of this one. You and your little newspaper club are fraud.”

"I just wanted to make sure everyone knew -"

"I  _don’t_ need the extra attention, Varric!” Cassandra shouts. “If you think I’m cool or, I don’t know,  _whatever_ , show it by telling the truth!” She huffs and storms out of the hallway, clearly furious. 

Most of the freshman crowd disperses, muttering to themselves. Varric sighs. Great. Fucked it up again. Is he ever gonna get it right?

"Hey, it’s okay!" says the only lingering freshman - a tiny little black-haired kid with a smile wider than her face. Varric doesn’t know what to make of her. "You should do what she says. And ask her out. You’d make a cute couple. Uh - you are interested in her, right? I bet she likes you. She was totally embarrassed, it was really sweet."

"You think?" Varric asks, thoroughly disbelieving.

The little freshman shrugs and tugs at one of her sweater’s sleeves. It’s got flowers all over it, like a little garden or something. “Well, I mean, I’ve not had much luck myself with… anything. But yeah. Go for it.”

Varric gives her a scrutinizing look, and then smiles back, laughing. “Alright, maybe I will, Daisy. Maybe I will.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: high school reunion au. [[original post](http://lizzledpink.tumblr.com/post/105974242391)]

God, he felt old, some days. 

He was watching Daisy and Hawke twirl around the dance floor and they looked so damn young to him. Eternal and happy and all that bullshit. Maybe it was because he had been watching them dance for what felt like forever. Or maybe it was something else.

Whatever it was, it was making him want to go get another drink.

"You look worse than Fenris," somebody said, coming up to his seat on the edge of the room. 

Varric looked up, squinting. “Tiny? That you? Holy shit, Bull, did you get  _bigger_?”

"No, I’m pretty sure you just got smaller," the Iron Bull said, grinning down at him. "Mind if I steal a chair?"

"Be my guest," said Varric. "How long has it been?"

”Hell if I know, too long, obviously. When’d we last meet?”

"Wasn’t it the summer after junior year, in college?"

Bull filled in immediately, “That’s right, we just happened to show up at the same cafe… Oh, I remember.”

"You’d just hooked up with Dorian, hadn’t you?"

"And you walked in with your new girl, and just happened to overhear us talking about it, in a certain amount of detail…"

Varric chuckled, remembering it. “Bianca was scandalized! I couldn’t stop laughing, especially once Sparkler turned and I saw his face, and then he started flirting with Bianca  _himself_ , of course. The pair of you almost scared her away from me in the space of a few minutes.”

The Iron Bull laughed with him. “Oh, that was  _funny_. What a hoot. I meant to keep in touch, but…”

"I know, I know. I went and became a famous writer-slash-journalist, you went off to do whatever it is you’ve been doing - what  _have_ you been doing?”

"Oh, nothing much. Small sales position, that’s all."

"You? Star Linebacker for the Chargers, gone cubicle? I don’t buy it."

"Weird, right? Sounds too boring for me, I’m sure. I’m happy, though. I had my fun. Played in college, too, did you know that?"

"Did you? Sorry, I had no idea. Never paid as much attention to football, I guess."

"Don’t worry about it. I only found out a couple months ago that your novels were becoming a big name, you know. When I saw one of your stories for the first time, I picked it up and I thought, ‘Of course he would write this shit.’"

"I’ll take that as a compliment," Varric said, grinning. 

"Good, it was one!" said the Bull. "So, Bianca. You still with her?"

"Nah," Varric said, wilting a little. "That… didn’t last long."

"Broke up with you for some college fling?"

"Got married, actually."

"Shit."

"Yeah."

There was a bit of an awkward silence.

"Didn’t mean to bring the whole party down. Sorry about that."

"Don’t worry about it. Like I said, didn’t last long, and it was a while ago."

"Yeah, still." Then the Bull’s expression lit up with an idea. "Hey, I’ll make it up to you. How’s that sound?"

Oh, hell, Varric thought. “Suddenly terrifying.”

"No, I mean it. Let me introduce you to someone."

"Here? Now?"

"What, unless you’ve got something better to do?"

Well, of course he did. He had to sit here and watch Merrill and Hawke be the light of each other’s lives, while most of his other friends had decided not to attend, were already very drunk, or had already fucked off with their own love interests. 

"Alright, alright, I’ll do it," Varric grumbled, getting out of his chair.

"Great!" said the Bull. Varric had the distinct feeling he was being played, but he wasn’t sure how. "Come on, then."

The Bull led Varric out of the gymnasium and into the halls of the school. Out here there were several tables with food and drinks on them. Some people milled about, chatting or checking their phones for messages, whatever. This was not the life of the party. 

"She’s over here," said the Iron Bull. He pointed to a blonde woman in a long, blue dress, white shawl, cross necklace around her neck, a simple white purse on one arm, typing on her phone with one arm crossed. Very clearly  _not_  in a good mood.

Varric was skeptical, but approached. When he was close enough, she noticed him and turned to catch his eye. His jaw nearly dropped. 

"Cassandra!" 

"Not so  _loud_ ,” she hissed, and then she stopped, startled, and said, “Varric?”

"It  _is_ you?” he said, awed. “Holy shit… Shouldn’t you be, I don’t know, sleeping well before you bat against the Chevaliers or something? Is that a wig? Are you wearing a  _dress_?”

"No, the Bull talked me into coming here for the night. I told him I’d be swamped with fans who barely even knew me back in school if I came. He told me he could fix that. Didn’t know he meant this," she said with a scowl, pointing to the wig. Her arm slipped out of the shawl as she pointed, revealing the strong muscles of a baseball player. The shawl was clearly also part of her little disguise.

"Well, has it worked?" Varric asked, trying to relax. His heart was pounding. He’d been  _sure_ she was going to miss the reunion. 

"Mostly. A few people recognized me, but only friends, so I suppose it has worked. Bull - and he’s gone," Cassandra said, looking right past Varric. "I don’t know how he does that."

He turned around. She was right. He’d left them there alone. Varric swallowed hard. If he was really, really,  _really_ honest with himself, he’d never completely gotten over that crush on Cassandra. He tried not to be that honest with himself very often, though. And for good reason.

"Wait. Do you know my schedule?" Cassandra asked, turning her attention back to him.

"Yeah," he said, keeping the most casual tone of voice he could manage. "Val Royeaux Divines vs the Val Royeaux Chevaliers, first of the series, starting tomorrow, wasn’t it? I was planning on going to the bar with a few friends." That was true, actually. Hawke was a Divines fan, too (when they weren’t playing the Kirkwall Guards, anyway). 

"Oh," Cassandra replied, smiling slightly. "Well, it’s the crosstown series. No traveling needed. So I’m a bit freer than is usual for the rest of the season."

"Lucky you," Varric said. Lucky me, he thought.

"What did the Bull bring you over for, anyway?"

"Well," Varric started saying, "you see, he…" The words fell off his lips. What was he going to say? "He…" Varric thought of ten lies at once, each more extravagant than the last, then discarded them, thought of new ones, and stopped. What the hell was he doing?

"Actually," he interrupted himself, "he was doing me a favor." What the  _hell_  was he doing?

Cassandra raised her eyebrows (which Varric belatedly noticed had been lightened, somehow, to match the wig). “A favor?” 

"He saw I was alone, bored, and worst of all, not even slightly drunk, and he offered to introduce me to a girl," Varric said. What. The  _Hell_. Was he doing.

Cassandra blushed, just a little. “Did he now?”

"Pretty much."

"Oh, Varric. I’m so sorry." She shook her head and covered her face with one hand. "The Bull’s been convinced for the past few months now that - to put it in his words, never mine - I need to get laid. He’s been setting me up with random people,  _without_ consulting me. I didn’t think he’d do it here,” she growled. 

Hell.

"I understand," he said, smiling on the outside, slightly screaming on the inside. "Kick his ass for me, will you?"

"Very well, but I get to kick his ass for  _me_ , first.”

"That’s only fair," Varric says. Trying to steer the topic out of  _everything is horrible_ territory, he asks, “So have you kept up with him, then? We lost contact a while ago, but it sound like you two meet regularly.”

Cassandra nodded. “He took a job in sales out of college, and it takes him to all the big cities. Sometimes our travel dates are fortunate enough to coincide, so it’s been somewhat easy for me to keep up contact with him.” Cassandra smiled, and added, “Even though I’m playing for a major league team now, he’s still the best person to spar with, too. Nobody on the team gives me a proper challenge. He’s been a good friend.”

"Except for the part where he keeps trying to hook you up without your consent," Varric joked, because apparently, he liked deliberately incurring small wounds in his soul.

Cassandra laughed though, and it helped. ”Right. Except for that. He means well, I know, but it’s just - hold on a moment,” she said, ducking her head and covering her face with one hand, as if embarrassed or laughing. The curls on her wig fell forward, mostly concealing her face.

"Varric!" he heard from behind him. He turned around and saw Merrill coming over towards him. "Varric, where have you  _been_? Isabela challenged Dorian to a dance-off, _goddess_ it was funny, and…” She trailed off, looking between Varric’s raised eyebrow and Cassandra. “Oh. Ohhhhhhhh. Should I, um…”

Cassandra giggled.  _Giggled_. For pretenses, probably, but it was still the funniest thing he’d ever heard. Varric somehow kept a straight face and said, ”Maybe later, Daisy?”

"Sure, sure. Don’t stay up too late," she teased. Cassandra giggled again. 

"And  _you_  don’t get shitfaced and grind up against someone in front of the whole gym,” he replied, scowling. 

"Oh, please, Varric," Merrill teased. "Don’t worry, I promise we won’t get so drunk you’ll have to watch the Divines alone tomorrow."

Shit. Shit. Shit. “ _Daisy!_ ”

"Going, going!" she said. "Call me later!" With that, she walked away with a bounce in her step, and left Varric alone with Cassandra and the knowledge that Merrill had just let more slip than he had really wanted Cassandra to know.

Once Merrill was completely out of earshot, Cassandra started outright laughing. “S-Sorry,” she said between laughs. “It’s not that I don’t trust Merrill, I only -“

"It’s just that back in high school if she heard it, she’d end up telling everybody else out of pure delight. Yeah, that hasn’t changed a bit," Varric said a little fondly. "I get it."

Cassandra smiled wryly. “I like my privacy. A bad trait for a very famous baseball player, I know, but it’s true.”

Yeah, he knew. It made it hell to find out anything about her life beyond her batting average or her runs batted in. “Don’t worry, Seeker, I won’t hold it against you.”

"Did you just call me Seeker?"

"Yeah. Should I not?" If this were one of his novels, he thought, he’d be writing  _She’d always be Seeker to him_  right now. It wasn't completely true in this case, but the sentiment certainly applied. Why had he ever pretended his crush on her had gone away? All it took was her appearing once, smiling and laughing with him, and he was hooked. Go directly to major crush hell. Do not pass go. Do not collect $200.

"No, it’s just been so long since I was a Seeker, it’s strange to hear it again," Cassandra said. "So… You’re a Divines fan?" Cassandra asked, smiling.

"Please don’t ask me that," Varric said, wincing. "Spare me."

"You are? Really?"

He covered his face. He didn’t think he’d blushed in his entire life, but if he was going to, he would be blushing now. “I watch almost all the games, Seeker. Happy?”

"I didn’t peg you for a Divines fan," she said. "Thought you’d be supporting Kirkwall still, like you were back in high school."

"Of course I still support Kirkwall!" Varric replied, genuinely affronted. "They’re… just my second-favorite, these days." 

He sighed and dropped his hand from his face, though he kept staring resolutely at the floor. She… she ought to have the truth. At least a part of it. She was going to think he was so pathetic, but… “Cassandra. Listen. It’s… It’s not  _exactly_  the Divines I’m a fan of. “

"Not the Divines? But then…"

Cassandra fell silent, clearly understanding his meaning. Varric closed his eyes. Hell. 

"Look at me," she said after a second. "No, really. Look up."

Varric inched his head up towards her with a slightly terrified expression.

Cassandra was looking into her bag. She reached in for something, and pulled out, of all the strange things in the world, a copy of  _Swords & Shields_. She waved it a little, blushing, but smiling slightly.

"Nuh-uh," he said without thinking.

"They’re… They’re very good for travel," she said. "It’s so easy to find them in any store. And… I… like them?"

Varric was having trouble wrapping his head around it. “That’s - that’s my worst novel of all of them,” he stammered.

"I’m not going to disagree with you there. …Still, I’m rereading it. And I’ve read all your other ones, too." She tucked it back into her purse, clearly embarrassed. "You’re not the only one here who can be a fan, Varric."

"Apparently not," he said numbly. 

"Can I ask you a personal question, Varric?" 

"Sure?"

"Back in high school… Did you like me?"

Varric stared at her. “You’ve gotta be kidding me.”

"I’m… not."

"Did I - of course I did," he spluttered. "God, I was hung up on you. The whole school knew it. Why did you think I teased you all the time? Or made shit up about you?"

"I was young, and foolish, and I thought you hated me," she told him. "Worse, I thought  _I_ hated  _you_.”

Varric’s emotions weren’t keeping up with this conversation at all. “Sorry, Cassandra, I need to get my ears checked. Could’ve sworn you just implied you might have liked me back in high school.”

"You heard correctly." Cassandra looked down slightly, bright red by this point.  "It took me a couple years, and some distance, to figure that out. …Did the whole school really know?"

"All our friends did. Hawke and the crew wouldn’t let me live it down, especially not at baseball games."

"How did I miss this?"

"You’ve always been a little bit oblivious, Seeker," Varric said, shaking his head. She looked back up then, and… God, the blonde hair did not suit her at all, but it didn’t matter, she was the most beautiful, glorious, purple-prose-worthy thing he’d ever seen. 

He put a hand on Cassandra’s waist and leaned towards her for a kiss, and she met him halfway, and sparks flew, and Varric forgot to breathe. Her hand cupped the side of his face, drawing him into the kiss.

They were making out in the middle of their old high school hallway. What was this, high school? 

"Varric," she said a little breathlessly, "this - this isn’t the dress, right?"

“ _What_?”

"The outfit, the rest of it, I don’t usually wear things like this. I just -"

"You came to prom in a white tuxedo, had to be kept from flipping off Ms. Wynne when she tried to judge you for it, and I still wanted to sweep you off your feet, temper and all; of course it’s not the damn dress."

"Good," she said, and she drew him in for another lingering kiss, halfway forcing him to stand on tip-toe for a moment. 

When the kiss ended, Varric had a million things to say, like his brain had suddenly been shocked back into actually working for him again. “This is a terrible idea,” he said. “It’s a high-school reunion, we’re tripping on nostalgia and coincidences. We’re both famous, even if you’re more famous; if people found out about us, we’d never have privacy ever again.”

"Meanwhile I’m traveling half the year, training the other half, and even when I’m home, I’m busy. That’s not easy on anyone."

"I’m having trouble caring right now," he said, maybe a little gruffly.

"I could say the same," Cassandra confessed. "It’s… not every day you get presented with a chance to… to make up for a mistake you made, once."

"Not every day you find out your mistake was someone else’s, too," Varric muttered. 

"Very true. Give me your phone. Unlock it if need be."

The change of subject was abrupt. Varric followed the order without question. She took it from him the moment he’d hit the last digit of his PIN. 

"Should’ve deleted my internet history first."

"Should’ve thought of that before you gave it to me," she retorted.

"Fair."  It amazed him how quickly they’d slipped into a familiar banter.

She finished what she was doing and showed him his phone again. She’d put herself in his contacts, and, following his trend of keeping his contacts’ names as their nicknames, she’d put herself in simply as “Seeker”. 

"Tomorrow, after the game, when we’re less… dazzled, talk to me, text me, call me, I don’t care," she said. "Meet me somewhere in town, or something. Okay?"

"Very okay," Varric said, making sure to brush his fingers against hers when he took his phone back from her. "Very, very okay."

"You’ll be watching me tomorrow, right?"

"Wouldn’t miss it."

"Wish me luck."

"Every time."

"I… Thank you," she said, smiling warmly. Varric felt warm. "I’ll… I’ll go now. See you tomorrow, Varric."

"See you, beautiful," he said. "Ditch the wig."

"Oh, I  _will_. This thing can go to hell,” she proclaimed. She walked away quietly after that (she was wearing flats, he noticed; heels were one thing the Iron Bull hadn’t talked her into, apparently), ducking her head again to avoid a few looks coming her way.

Varric knew he had to be grinning like the cat that had caught the canary. He heard a soft whistle and saw Hawke hanging out nearby, just out of earshot. She came towards him now.

"You look happy," Hawke observed.

"Got her number," he said, waving his phone at her with the screen shut off.

"You sure? She could have given you a fake. You should make sure it’s real."

Varric thought about it. It was probably the real thing, but he had something to say anyway. “Not a bad idea.”

He quickly typed out a short message. 

_You realize Daisy’s going to see my expression during the game tomorrow and figure it all out. -V_

The reply came back after a moment.

_If that’s true, it amazes me that you’ve ever won a single hand of Wicked Grace._

Ah, yes. Wicked Grace. That silly little card game he’d invented with Curly at the start of senior year, which had spread all across the school.

"Don’t worry, Hawke. It’s her."


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: 5 sentences after the sentence "HOW did that get there?!" [[original post](http://lizzledpink.tumblr.com/post/106969114871)]

“ _How_ did that get there?!”

"What - no, it’s probably fake, or some silly codename of his or something," Merrill said. "Come on, stop snooping around Varric’s phone before he gets back!"

"No way, what if it’s real? I’m going to check."

Hawke hit the button to call, and she and Merrill stared at the phone for a long moment as it rang, rang, rang, and finally, somebody picked up: “This is Cassandra.”

Merrill quickly hit the button to hang up, covering her mouth with her hand in surprise, and Hawke started smiling a slow, wicked grin.


End file.
